The Care of Prints and Drawings

During more than a decade of work in the conservation of prints and drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Margaret Holben Ellis, a specialist in the field, was aware that reliable information on many conservation problems was hard to find. It required frequent searches through the literature in pamphlets and journals; and books on paper conservation offered only semirelated data, often inappropriate.Margaret Ellis's work notes-tested, proven and carefully recorded-became a sound personal research source. Assembled and unified by the author's informed text, notes and commentary, much of what Ms. Ellis learned by doing appears in The Care of Prints and Drawings."The objects I speak of caring for and preserving need not belong to a museum," says the author. "The book is meant to be useful...to anyone responsible for providing good care and a safe environment for prints and drawings."Ms. Ellis's clear, straightforward prose includes step-by-step instructions for many procedures. Strikingly appropriate black-and-white photos and diagrams illustrate the text, and three appendices carry additional specialized information.